Follow the 2023 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) with direct SBK and Supersport updates from the fifth round of the season at Morgan Park through Racefeed.

Image: Foremost Media.

Supersport race one:

Rookie Supersport sensation Cameron Dunker (Yamaha) continued his strong form with another 600 victory in a red flag-shortened race-one. Ty Lynch (Yamaha) and Dunker (Yamaha) traded blows in the opening laps with Olly Simpson (Yamaha) making rapid progress from the third row to move into third. On turn six with 10 laps to go Lynch crashed out of the lead, seeing Dunker take over at the front, with Simpson, Tom Bramich (Yamaha), John Lytras (Yamaha) and pole-setter Hayden Nelson in the lead group. Simpson took the lead into turn one as the race entered its second half, with Dunker returning the favour with five laps to go before running wide at turn four, dropping to P3 with Nelson taking the number one position. As three laps remained, Bramich fell at turn four, reducing the lead group to four. On the penultimate lap, Dunker passed Nelson on the main straight for the P1, with disaster striking the number 279 as he crashed at turn nine, with the red flag coming out soon after due to oil on the circuit. Dunker ultimately took the win by just under three-tenths ahead of Simpson, with defending champion Lytras taking the final spot on the podium. In fourth was Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha), with Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) completing the top five. Positions six to 10 featured Jack Favelle (Honda), Tarbon Walker (Yamaha), Lynch – who was able to remount, Declan Carberry (Suzuki) and Ben Baker (Yamaha).

Superbike race one: 

Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss snatched the championship lead with a thrilling victory in race one at the Warwick-based circuit. Herfoss moved to the front early ahead of Jones, with DesmoSport Ducati’s Broc Pearson dropping to P9 on the opening lap from the front row. The leading trio of Herfoss, Jones and championship leader Josh Waters (Wickham Freightlines with K-tech McMartin Racing) slowly edged away across the opening five laps, with Glenn Allerton (GT Racing BMW) running P4. With 11 laps to go, Jones took P1 from Herfoss, with a pair holding a half-second advantage from Waters at the halfway point. It wasn’t long after the Fireblade rider reclaimed the top position, then disaster struck for Waters as he ran off the track at turn one/two, rejoining in ninth position. Jones made a move to the lead once more at turn 11, but Herfoss was able to strike back with a last-lap pass into turn six to ultimately secure the victory by 0.097s from the Yamaha Racing Team rider. Allerton kept his nose clean to take third, 6.052s from P1 as Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team) was fourth and Broc Pearson was able to recover to fifth. MotoGO Yamaha’s Bryan Staring finished sixth, ahead of Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha), Arthur Sissis (Unitech Racing), Waters and Ted Collins (Livson Racing) inside the top 10. GTR MotoStars Yamaha rider Max Stauffer fell in the early stages at turn four.

Supersport race two:

Victory in race two secured Australian Supersport Championship leader Olly Simpson his first overall victory in the category. Lynch grabbed the holeshot but it was Dunker who made his way to the front by the second lap, before Simpson took P1 with a move up the inside into turn three. Simpson held the lead until lap 12 when Dunker made a move into turn one, with the front group of four also including Lynch and Lytras in contention. The number three was shuffled back to third at turn three the following lap, with Lynch relegating him to P4 soon after. From there Simpson was able to hold off the charge from Lytras in second to take the victory, crossing the line just 0.024s ahead of the defending champion. Lynch completed the top three, with Dunker fourth and Nahlous fifth, 3.322s from the lead. In sixth was Bramich, with Dallas Skeer (Yamaha), Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha), Glenn Nelson (Yamaha) and Scott Nicholson (Yamaha) rounding out the top 10. Pole-setter Nelson was unable to compete in the second race with his bike not quite fixed from severe damage sustained in his fall in the opening bout. In terms of the overall, Simpson was victorious on 45 points, with Dunker second on 42 and Lytras third with 38. Simpson now leads the championship by 13 points ahead of Dunker, with Lynch a further four points adrift in third.

Superbike race two: 

Herfoss got the holeshot in race two, with Pearson making a much better start this time out to slot into P2 but was relegated to fourth by the end of lap one by Allerton and Jones. With 11 laps to go Jones made a move past Allerton into turn 10, closing down the buffer Herfoss had built the following time round with a new race lap record of a 1m12.251s, before making his way past the number 17 as the encounter approached the half way point. Herfoss stayed on the tail of Jones until retaking the lead approaching the final four laps, but Jones fought back to head the field entering the final lap. A moment from YRT rider at turn nine on the last lap allowed Herfoss to capitalise and ultimately secure the overall with two race victories. Allerton held off a spirited charge from Pearson to take third, with Waters completing the top five behind the young Queensland-based rider. In P6 was Halliday, as Staring, West, Sissis and Stauffer featured inside the top 10. Consistent scores from Herfoss, Jones and Allerton saw them complete the top three overall at round five, with Herfoss now holding a 14 point lead ahead of Waters with two rounds remaining in the 2023 ASBK championship.